Biography
American comic actor Billy Bletcher sustained a performing career that extended from the silent-film period into the late 1960s. He first stepped onto stages in vaudeville upon turning 19, then launched his motion-picture work at Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn in 1913, where he occasionally directed John Bunny comedies. Bletcher and his wife Arline moved to Hollywood in 1917, entering Mack Sennett’s stock company of comics and appearing in numerous two-reelers. His profile rose more markedly in the early 1920s after he paired with Billy Gilbert for a series of Hal Roach two-reelers. Additional screen roles included the part of Spanky’s father in the “Our Gang” shorts. He supplied character voices for Disney cartoons and contributed to features such as The Wizard of Oz, in which he voiced a Munchkin, while also recording voiceovers for television. His final film appearance took place in 1969.